1+1: Disagree and commit + Humbler Leadership

Here's one leadership idea and one resource I’ve found beneficial in the past two weeks:

1 idea: Disagree and commit

One of the best American politicians you’ve never heard of was a man named Hamilton Fish.

After serving as a governor and U.S. Senator, Fish became Secretary of State under President Grant. Once in office, Fish faced the arduous task of negotiating a contentious treaty with England. Despite his poor health and the complex negotiations, Fish crafted a compromise that was agreeable to all sides. His thoughtful process set a new standard for international diplomacy by involving other nations as objective mediators—a process we still use for peace talks today.

After completing the treaty, Hamilton Fish submitted his resignation with plans to retire, but the nation would not comply. In an unusual act of desperation, Grant pleaded with him to stay. The Vice President and forty-four senators signed a letter begging him to remain in office, too. But why? What made Secretary Fish such an asset to the country?

Biographer Ron Chernow sums up his superpower this way:

For Grant, Fish was the ideal cabinet member because he never hesitated to disagree or warn of dangers inherent in a given course of action. At the same time, once Grant made up his mind he was unshakable, and Fish loyally carried out his directives, whether he supported them or not.

Fish's experience and judgment were valuable, but his most precious asset was that he could disagree and commit.

Leadership guru Patrick Lencioni coined the phrase "disagree and commit" to capture what all high-performing teams do. Behind closed doors, they fiercely debate important issues to get to the truth of the matter. But once a decision has been made, they emerge from the conference room as a united front. When done well, no one outside the room can tell who originated the idea and who opposed it. When the plan falters later, no one says “I told you so” and shifts the blame. There is plenty of disagreement, but it all happens behind closed doors.

This approach to team decisions is rare because it requires so much humility. It’s challenging to set aside our own preferences for the good of the team. But research shows that teams who use this approach outperform their competitors significantly because they tap into the wisdom of the group without getting bogged down by gossip, backstabbing, or infighting.

A few weeks after submitting his resignation, Fish rescinded his letter and went back to work for President Grant. In the end, he would become Grant’s longest-serving—and most valuable—cabinet officer.

While you will probably not negotiate an international treaty any time soon, you too could increase your value by learning to disagree and commit.

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• Behind closed doors, how disagreeable are you on a scale of 1-10? What about your team as a whole?

• When you’re in public, how committed are you on a scale of 1-10? What about your team?

• What would need to change for both of those numbers to become 10s?

1 resource: Humbler Leadership

If this kind of honest disagreement and humble commitment sounds compelling but challenging, check out my book Humbler Leadership. It not only spells out the research-based case for this approach to work, but it also provides ten practical skillsets and mindsets your team can use to become humbler.

PS: These guys could beat Forrest Gump.